German chemical firm BASF recorded a €3.9-billion pre-tax gain from the sale of its former automotive coatings business during the second quarter of 2026.
The German chemical producer disclosed the figure in its half-year financial report published July 29. BASF reported second-quarter net income of €4.14 billion, compared with €79 million during the same period in 2025. The coatings sale accounted for most of the increase.
BASF completed the transaction with investment funds managed by Carlyle on June 30 after receiving regulatory approval. Carlyle is a private equity firm. Its investment partner, Qatar Investment Authority, is Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The transaction valued the business at €7.7 billion, including its debt. BASF received approximately €5.8 billion in cash before taxes and kept a 40% ownership interest. Carlyle and Qatar Investment Authority control the remaining 60%.
The former BASF Coatings business began operating independently under the name Surventis on July 1.
Surventis produces coatings used by vehicle manufacturers, automotive refinish products used by collision repair facilities and surface treatment chemicals. Its brands include Glasurit, R-M, baslac and Chemetall.
The Muenster, Germany-based business has annual sales of approximately €3.9 billion, about 10,700 employees and more than 42,000 customers. It operates more than 30 production and development sites and serves customers in more than 100 countries.
BASF and Carlyle signed the sale agreement on Oct. 10, 2025. The transaction was structured as a carve-out, meaning the coatings operations were separated from BASF and established as a company with their own management and finances.
The transaction transferred majority control of one of the world’s largest automotive coatings suppliers from a publicly traded chemical producer to private equity and sovereign wealth investors. BASF will receive a 40% stake in the business as well as a portion of Surventis’s future earnings.
“We further strengthened BASF’s position in the market and achieved major progress with our restructuring as well as portfolio measures,” BASF chief executive officer Markus Kamieth said when the July 29 results were released.
BASF reported first-half net income of €5.07 billion, up from €887 million during the first half of 2025. First-half sales increased 6.2% to €33.23 billion.
